Friday, November 7, 2008

My grandmother used to always tell me to be careful what I wished for because it may come true. As I come down off of my Obama induced high and begin pondering the implications of his victory I am still beset by mixed feelings. I am so very happy, but I still remain quite worried.

And yes, we did get to see history happen rather than to be a witness to it. God, I can't describe how amazing that feels. But now, we have to grapple with the implications of what could be (or not) a sea change in how think about race and politics in this country.

1. We were so happy on election night: the cheering, screaming, crying, and pride. How soon will that joy turn into anger and disappointment?

2. And if we were so happy on Tuesday Night, why were they so miserable?

3. Obama's victory is a struggle between the symbolic and the practical. Which side will win out?

4. We finally got the ball and now have to run with it. What if we get the ball, run with it, and don't score a touchdown? What if they have rigged the rules to keep us from scoring?

5. An exceptional black man named Barack Obama will be president. When will a person of color who is below average and a failure of a man--someone like George Bush--get to be president? Would the latter be more progress than the former?

6. As they look down on us, are Martin, Malcolm, Sojourner, John Brown and Harriet smiling? Or as they look down on us, are Martin, Malcolm, Sojourner, John Brown and Harriet shaking their heads because we don't know what is waiting for us around the corner?

7. I am happy that many people voted for Barack Obama because he is black. I am saddened that many people voted for Barack Obama because he is black.

8. Where do WE go from here? Where do THEY go from here?

9. A change is gonna come. Or is it?

10. Three words: White, conservative backlash.

11. Publicly, we were/are so excited . Privately, what are we afraid of?

12. They can hate us but love him: Some people dislike black people yet voted for a black man because of the economy. Is this racial progress? Are we just treading water? Or is this a step backwards?

13. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is true in physics and in politics. What will the opposite reaction be?

14. The scholar in me is both scared and excited. Part of me is biting at the bit to work through how this moment matters for the study of race, ethnicity and politics. Another part of me is worried to death that so much of what we know will be forced into obsolescence. The plain old American part of me is excited and happy about how exceptional we can indeed be as a people. The Black American part of me is joyous and proud...but is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

15. Yes WE can. And you know what, yes THEY can too.

16. I am happy that little black boys and little black girls will grow up in a world which has known a black president. I am really scared that little black boys and little black girls will still be penalized for being Black--and these little black boys and little black girls won't have a language to describe what they are experiencing.

17. Right now, I am proud to be an American. Right now, I am scared to be an American.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Not to belabor the obvious, but it must be said that I do in fact love the insincere shock and offense demonstrated by Fox News at a black man being called an "Uncle Tom." Given their trafficking in race baiting, it is great to see Conservatives and their mouthpieces feign any sort of concern about racism.

But damn! Nader doesn't pull any punches does he? For the record, I do think that his concern is a fair and reasonable one--but let's bask in the afterglow for a little while before we get too critical. Nader's move reminds me of a woman who after some great, stink up the room, burn down a few inscents (sandalwood of course) to the nub, R. Kelly/D'Angelo/Sade playing in the background lovemaking asks either, "What does this mean?" or "Are we in a relationship?"

Talk about a mood killer. Let's just lay together, legs intertwined, and enjoying the pheromones of the love musk before we start having a conversation about "serious" business. Remember folks, be careful because as Sister Alexyss Tylor says, Obamamania will make you slap somebody:

But, as we lay spent of our political energies, our root chakras now drained by the Obamamania which we have experienced, we cannot forget the concerns raised by Brother West regarding the challenge faced by Barack Obama in balancing practical politics with a commitment to change:

Okay, I am going back to laying in bed and stinking up the room in the afterglow of my Obamamania...

Jesse, I want to twist his nuts off, Jackson has conjured up some magical tears it seems. Jesse Jackson, professional ambulance chaser and victomologist will undoubtedly spin his public display of emotion at seeing a Black man elected president into some new version of a "I held Martin as he lay dying" collage of half-truths.

I think the caption of this photo should read "Tears of Frustration" or perhaps "Come on, I got to cry on cue so I can be all over the news."

Respectable negroes and our white allies, how would you caption the above photo?

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep ... But we will get there!"

Call me soft, but I'm actually crying. Throughout this entire campaign, I've been trying not to want this too much. I feared the disappointment. I hid my true emotions behind sarcasm and scholarship. At this point, I'm letting it all out.

I'm hopeful in a way that I have never been before. I don't expect the impossible, for there is a lot to repair in this country -- too much for Obama to do alone, too much to do in one term. But, we have broken a barrier. We have!

I'm thinking about all of those folks who could have never imagined this just four short years ago. I'm thinking about what my children might be able to witness.

On this night, I will allow myself to be soft and emotional. I will allow myself a few tears of joy. I will allow myself to offer up a few "daps" to the brothers in the street. Tomorrow, I'll get back to my cynical, sarcastic self. But tonight, I am happy and proud.

Chauncey wrote a great piece on what makes him excited and scared about the election. I’ve chosen a different approach: looking at the implications of the two possible outcomes in practical and symbolic terms. This is a recurring theme for me, as I’ve struggled with the tension between practical and symbolic politics since we started this site.

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In practical terms, an Obama loss would secure at least 12 more years of Republican presidential rule, as young progressives and black people would withdraw from national electoral politics in significant numbers.

In symbolic terms, an Obama loss would torpedo the dream of a black man becoming president any time soon. If this brilliant, biracial, supposedly post-racial black politician is too black to become president, then what chance do the rest of us have?

In practical terms, an Obama loss would all but ensure that Sarah Palin and her petty, incurious, faux-populist ilk dominate national Republican politics for the next decade or so.

In symbolic terms, an Obama loss would signal that the previous generation is still calling the shots.

****

In practical terms, an Obama win would halt the Bush administration’s assault on the Constitution; it would prevent the Supreme Court from veering even further to the right; it would signal the immediate end to America’s bankrupt neocon cowboy foreign policy.

In symbolic terms, an Obama win would represent the acceptance of American multiculturalism on the (inter)national stage.

In practical terms, an Obama win would not have a significant, positive effect on the electorate. The Right will regroup, and due to the general unpopularity of every Congress, the Democrats in power will take the hit and the political pendulum will carry Republicans back into office in the next few election cycles.

In symbolic terms, an Obama win would suggest that Howard Dean was right: Democrats need to look at the guys with the Confederate flags on their trucks as potential allies.

1. I am excited that the American people may be more mature, wise, and reflective than I would have guessed them ever capable of being. I am scared that they may not be.

2. I am excited that Obama's victory could be a cathartic moment for our country as America moves one step closer to confronting, and maybe if we are really lucky, of conquering the demons that plague its racial subconscious. I am afraid those demons may be semi-permanent fixtures in our politics and culture.

3. I am excited about Obama winning. I am scared that if he loses, what that defeat says about America, our future, and the prospects for a truly shared and democratic political culture.

4. I am excited that Barack could be what America hopes and dreams him to be. I am scared that if Obama is just a man, if he is not superhuman, if he is merely just a good president, that this won't be good enough.

5. I am excited that these last few months have been witness to conversations about race, class, and gender (even if they were often "coded") that hint at a need and want for a real conversation about this country's future and what is/was an often ugly and shared history. I am scared that these first steps will be final steps and that our much needed national conversation won't continue.

6. I am excited that White Americans are displaying a bit more responsibility, courage, and wisdom as citizens than I would have ever thought them capable. I am scared that I am about to be disappointed.

7. I am excited that we are at the cusp of a great moment in our history. I am scared that we are investing too much in that one moment.

8. I am excited that the house that race built may be teetering just a wee bit more than it did a year, a decade, or certainly a century ago. I am scared that it will never fall down.

9. I am excited that a Black person will be president. I am scared that he won't be free to simply be mediocre.

10. I am excited that the president of the United States may happen to be a Black man. I am scared that many will view Obama as a Black man who is president.

11. I am excited that a centrist may occupy the White House. I am scared that the wolves are already waiting at the door to attack him for not being "radical" enough.

12. I am excited that the Right-wing in this country has been dealt a devastating blow. I am scared that the Right will somehow find a way to profit from this moment.

13. I am excited that we may see history happen tomorrow. I am scared that we may instead witness history tomorrow.

14. I am excited about the future, our undiscovered country. I am scared that the force of history, of inertia, and of bad habits--a moribund nostalgia--will keep America from stepping into the future.

15. I am excited about being blown forward by the winds of change tomorrow. I am scared that there are too many whom will instead decide to stand against the winds of change tomorrow.

16. I am excited that an unapologetically Black man may be president. I am scared that Obama, as "white" as he is, may still be too "Black" to be president.

17. I am excited that many of us seem ready to move forward as a society, as a country, and as a community in order to salvage and resuscitate America's influence and image in the world. I am scared that so many are going to have to be dragged into the future.

18. I am excited that we may be able to scratch one more item off of our list of "Black Firsts." I am scared that list of Black Firsts is still too long.

19. I am excited that America will make the correct choice tomorrow. I am scared that America will make the wrong choice tomorrow.

20. I am excited about a Post-Racial future. I am scared about what a Post-Racial future may hold.

21. I am excited about what an Obama victory means for the Black Freedom Struggle. I am a scared about what an Obama victory may mean for Black politics.

22. I am excited about what it means to be an American tomorrow. I am scared about what it means to be an American tomorrow...and for every day thereafter if America stands against history and decides to not move forward with it.

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What are your thoughts? What are you excited about? What are you scared about? How will you spend tomorrow?

Friday, October 31, 2008

I know I am not alone as I express my anxieties about what may come during the next few days. I don't know what is going to happen. I don't know if Obama is going to win on Tuesday. I don't know if he is going to lose fairly. And to wear my allegiances on my sleeve, yes, as though it is a surprise, I am deeply invested in his victory.

I don't expect the sky to open, or our world to radically change. Why? because frankly that is too much to ask of any one man. I am not invested in him because he is a peripheral acquaintance. But, I will admit that it is sort of cool to have gone to the same barbershop and to have spent money at the same supermarket as the likely next president of the United States.

I was talking to Gordon and Zora today, and my compatriots and I have gone back and forth on what to do about Tuesday's election. Gordon has been on me to write something and I have been dragging my feet. Yet, I have been pretty productive as I have avoided his encouragement. I have published two pieces in some pretty prominent places and have gotten a nice amount of attention as a result--another hint to help those who may be trying to figure out my "real" identity. I have done some good research. My "professional" life is moving forward. Most importantly for our purposes, I have written what I feel is one of my best pieces for this site. But you know what? I haven't been able to write about this Tuesday.

It has been said that one of the allures of being a blogger is the ability to publicly share your most personal thoughts without consequence or risk. One of my best friends back in Connecticut, my Virgo twin, says that the attraction of running a website is that we can all be celebrities. I think she is right. Moreover, we can be part of "the blogosphere," or in this case "the black Blogosphere" and feel like we are part of some freedom struggle: look we can write online and be radical and fight for justice, look here! look at us! we are so political! But you know what? As much as we are part of the next generation of some type of Black counter-public, or Left counter-public (or INSERT X counter-public) we are safe through our relative anonymity. No one is going to kill us, there are few material consequences for what we do, and if politics, I mean real "political" action, is action in the face of real consequences for your person, how "political" are we really?

Don't be mistaken, I believe in my heart that we all do good work and are part of a broader community that is participating in meaningful conversations and exchange. That having been said, for this weekend and until Tuesday, I want to pull aside the wall, the screen, the veil that we collectively hide behind. Yes, I am Chauncey DeVega. Yes, I am sincere. Yes, part of why I think this project has been more successful than I could have ever dreamed (and thanks you to all of you, and I/We REALLY mean that) is because me, Zora, and Gordon are committed to being ourselves. And I would like to believe that the many tens of thousands of people who have visited this site have responded to us precisely because of our sincerity and honesty.

However, in wrestling speak, or in the language of folks who run carnivals and circuses, I also believe in what is called "kayfabe," the allusion which makes magic seem "real." In wrestling, they say that you are successful if you take your own personality and turn its volume way up--this is why Hulk Hogan, the Rock, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, HHH and many others became legends: there was and is something utterly believable about their personas because these workers are exaggerated versions of themselves. This is the quality that attracts me to certain authors, thinkers, actors, and in this context, bloggers--the idea that some people are just themselves, utterly authentic, just with the volume turned up. This quality is what makes me admire, and I apologize if I miss anyone, Trill, Raw Dawg, Dallas, Darko, Straight, Ta-Nahesi, Undercover, Afronerd, Field, 8th, Werner, and many others.

And guess what? Until Tuesday, I am going to turn the volume a little down. This makes things a little more personal and a bit more intimate. I know I am not alone in being worried about Tuesday and what may or may not happen. But, I want to be "me" as I talk about it.

In that spirit, when I am worried or frightened I have a few songs that play in my head. These songs are my fight songs (and yes I have a martial spirit so they have a certain energy..this probably explains why I have a samurai sword in my bedroom and I make sure to read a selection from the Hagakure each day), the personal anthems that simultaneously calm me and also ready me for battle. It may sound odd to some of you, but when in crisis I feel my hand tighten around some intangible and invisible sword as I prepare for battle. This act gives me strength and comfort.

I really believe that we all have songs like this--maybe the Creator hardwired this capacity to find solace and stability and focus in music into our psyches. Who knows? maybe as we evolved we developed this capacity on our own. When I have gone to give a lecture, or to present in meeting where the stakes where high, I played these songs. When I have gone into situations where I didn't feel prepared I played these songs in order to give myself strength. When I am ready to take care of business, and to destroy my enemies so to speak, I play these songs. When I buried my father, I played these songs.

They aren't "Black" music per se, because we as human beings have a wonderful capacity to borrow and assimilate music (and its varied energies) from places other than our own: most importantly I think this demonstrates how human beings, at least in our best moments, are truly more than the sum of our parts.

When I need to conquer my fears, to get motivated, or the like, I think about the featured songs from the following four movies:

Last of the Mohicans:

Conan the Barbarian:

Of course the song which serves as my ring tone, and is also the inspiration for one of my tattoos, the "Imperial March":

When I reflect on how far I have come in life, and about how much farther I have yet to go:

What do you think about? What is your personal fight song? How and what are you thinking in these next few days?

Thursday, October 30, 2008

In keeping with our tradition of bringing you exclusive news exposes such as our penetrating interview with Jesse Jackson, and our groundbreaking series, White in America, the We are Respectable Negroes News Network (WARNNN) is proud to present an exclusive interview with Brother X-Squared, president of the North American Chapter of the Renewed Black Panther Party.

As the election approaches, there has been a renewed focus on the role of black leaders in post-Civil Rights era black politics. While black politicians, academics, and other elites have been the focus of these conversations regarding the end of Black Politics, other important voices have been silenced. Black America has always had a strong revolutionary consciousness. In an effort to include all voices in the moments leading up to the likely election of America's first black president, we have invited a black radical leader to share his thoughts. In this interview, Brother X Squared shares his thoughts on black politics in the age of Obama, his organization's plans for an Obama presidency, and some worries regarding the state of Black America.

WARNNN: Brother X-Squared, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Brother X-Squared: Peace be to you brother Chauncey.

WARNNN: Before we begin, how would you prefer to be addressed? X? Brother Squared? And please share with our readers the genesis of your name? I know this is important for many Black revolutionary leaders...

Brother X-Squared: Thank you for the respect. Most of the Uncle Tom lap dogs for the MSM, that is mainstream media for those of you whose brains are damaged from watching BET and listening to Souljah Boy, Lil Wayne, and those other jigging coons, or reading that ghetto lit...that is what your most high new Black African queen Zora called it the other day--and yes, I read your site because I stay on top of these Internets--wouldn't think to ask. You see, my name symbolizes loss and pain and the many millions, yes hundreds of millions, lost because of global white supremacy. While the all honorable Malcolm X took only one X, our pain and loss have been so multiplied by globalization that I have taken his loss and squared it. You get me? Instead of 2 we have 4. Instead of 4 we have 16. Instead of 9 we have 81. Is your mental state keeping up with mathematical and spiritual wisdom?

WARNNN: Yes, I think I understand. What is your actual position in the Renewed Black Panther Party?

Brother X-Squared: I am the leader of the organization. We are a democracy but also a plutocracy because every radical organization has to be decentralized yet have a strong leader. We learned from the Cointel program when those white racist dogs in the FBI and CIA and the local gestapos were killing our strong black leaders that you had to be decentralized. We are a hydra, I am but one head of this strong new Black America. My actual title is King High First Leader Primary Teacher Brother X-Squared.

WARNNN: How do you feel about the imminent election of Barack Obama? Are you excited? Is this the fulfillment of the Black freedom struggle?

Brother X-Squared: High fructose corn syrup. You see it is toxic, poisonous, and in everything you eat.

WARNNN: I am confused...

Brother X-Squared: Of course you are. You would have to be confused, just like all these other confused negroes in America to believe that Barack Obama would win the presidential race. And to think that if he wins, that Obama, the halfrican, half-white devil that he is, would support real black people. They got your mind twisted from the poison they feed you Brother Chauncey. That is why I am a vegetarian, no poison goes into my strong black temple.

WARNN: Please elaborate, what exactly do you think an Obama victory symbolizes? Is it progress?

Brother X-Squared: It is progress for the white man and the slave catchers and uncle toms which he allows to sit at his feet. You see there is a concept, it is real deep, so I will speak slowly. The concept is called hegemony. Hegemony, and man this is deep because it explains so much, is when the powerful are so in control that you the victim reproduce the conditions of your own enslavement. You can't even think of an alternative because the system has you. It is like an elephant that is chained up at the circus. You see elephants, those great African beasts are wise and strong and unfortunately too trusting. The white devils take these elephants and brainwash them to the point that the poor elephant doesn't even know that he isn't chained anymore. The elephant simply obeys his white master. And you know what happens when the elephant wakes up and realizes he isn't chained anymore? Do you know Brother Chauncey?

WARNNN: No, I don't.

Brother X-Squared: He goes on a rampage and kills his oppressors. Watch when an elephant has freed his mind, he goes right after those devils who were torturing him and he kills them. That is exactly what will happen once the brainwashed black man wakes up in America, and that is why white people are throwing you that bone, that Barack Obama, to keep you content and happy and to think that there is progress in America. This is just like the Matrix, hegemony has you and you want to continue to serve the white man's system. Just like my wise grandma used to say you all have been hoodwinked, you have let the man pull that nigger cotton over your eyes.

WARNNN: Nigger cotton? You mean the material that was used to make clothes for slaves? Don't you think that is a little harsh Brother X-Squared?

Brother X-Squared: The truth hurts.

WARNNN: What do you think of Barack Obama as a man?

Brother X-Squared: A man? Please, he is half-white. He is a mongrel. Consider, they couldn't even give you a real black American man, a full blooded black king to be president. They found the whitest black man they could and put him up there for you black fools, and those dumb white liberals to rally around. In fact, Brother Chauncey, did you know that Obama is a non-person, he is a zero, a nothing?

WARNNN: Now I am just lost.

Brother X-Squared: Of course you are, when you wake up it is scary and your mental state needs to adjust to the knowledge I am sharing. Most Americans, even the white ones, are mental slaves. Just like in Plato's Republic you all be looking at shadows and images and thinking you see the real thing. You need to join our movement, the Renewed Black Panthers to see the actual truth. Now, back to my original point. Obama is a nothing because, and this is deep, we have energy centers in our bodies that need to be in alignment with the universe. We manifest the temperaments of our environment. This is like DNA. White people are ice people. They are from cold, primitive, Europe. At their hearts they are savage cave dwellers thus the name Caucasian which is related to Caucuses. These ice people had nothing until they stole it from Africa and the Moors. Africans are fire or Sun people. See our beautiful skin and bronzed features. We are noble and beautiful. Obama is both fire and ice thus he is nothing. His energies are zero. This explains why white people find him acceptable. He doesn't threaten them. This also explains why white people, those psychic vampires, want to suck out his energy. Just like Obama girl, and all those white people at his rallies they are attracted to his fire energy. Damn this is deep, that also explains why they chose Sarah Palin...that ice queen from Alaska. White supremacy is operating right in front of you and you don't even see it. Obama is actually more ice than fire because he was inside of a white woman, his momma for 9 months after that Mandingo, sell out race mixing African father diluted his genes and got that woman pregnant, so Obama is really more white than black, but that is some real deep metaphysics you ain't ready for.

WARNNN: That is profound. But they are losing, the Republicans are losing, what does that say for your theory?

Brother X-Squared: It proves it. Either way you dumb negroes are cooked. Come next Wednesday it will be business as usual. Obama doesn't even support reparations and you dumb jiggin coons still support him--so many of our people are just lawn jockeys, living breathing 21st century slaves for the white man. Again, they got the wool pulled over your eyes Black people.

WARNNN: Wow, Brother X-Squared that was a memorable interview. Can we count on talking to you in the future?

Brother X-Squared: Absolutely, stay strong in the struggle. Remember, the Renewed Black Panther Party is fighting for all of you mentally imprisoned neo-slaves, and we will never stop trying to free you.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

It seems that Barack Obama was finally called a "nigger" at a recent Republican presidential rally.

I am not surprised. Nor, am I particularly upset. I have succumbed to election fatigue and there is little which can possibly occur at this point in the campaign to either shock or amaze me.

The Republican Party is responsible for this moment. I link this to the party, and not singularly to either Sarah Palin or John McCain because they collectively must bear responsibility for this uncivil behavior. And again, I do not say "shocking" because it was wholly predictable and expected given the tempest unleashed by McCain-Palin and the Right wing echo chamber. True, the landmark event which is a Black man being on the verge of the presidency was bound to unleash the fear and anxiety at the heart of America's racial subconscious. However, McCain, Palin, and the other puppet masters in the GOP have fanned and encouraged it.

McCain and Palin have trafficked in modern racism--what smart folks who study these things call "symbolic racism." It is a racism without racists. It is a white supremacy conducted through institutions and structures. It is the soft-bigotry of low expectations. It is benign neglect.

Symbolic racism is deft in how it massages language. Consider, Obama is called "unqualified." He is called "strange." Barack cavorts with "terrorists." He is more interested in being a "celebrity" than in being a real leader. Obama wants to be "the one." Ultimately, he "isn't prepared to lead." Do not be mistaken. This isn't a call for sensitivity and kid gloves in politics. As long time readers well know, I believe in playing to win--and I don't boohoo cheap shots or low blows. Rather, it is a call for honesty. To turn a phrase, Palin-McCain should simply call a spade a spade.

The tragedy of this situation is that McCain has sacrificed his personal integrity and (mostly) honorable legacy as a public servant for what, even if he wins, may be a Phyrric victory: he has sold his soul to the devil, the Christian Nationalists, the Neo-Cons, and rabid, frothing at the mouth anti-Abortionists, in total, groups which represent the fringe elements of the Republican Party (and who are now at its center). Sadly, as Colin Powell bravely pointed out, McCain has catered to the worst parts of the American creed. Ironically, Sarah Palin has lost nothing. Because of her utter lack of introspection, Palin remains bullet proof, Teflon coated, and seemingly immune to any challenge or criticism as she positions herself as a rising star for the 2012 elections. It seems that fate is not without a sense of humor.

Together, McCain and Palin are whoremasters of a particularly dirty type of racial politics, a politics, that at its core, is the remnant of a type of deep seeded, white supremacy. Neither, and I believe this to be especially true of John McCain, would hang the noose, but together they share a deep yearning for a White world. However, I must admit that I am much less sure of Palin in this regard, as she seems the type to not even pee on a negro if he or she were on fire.

During this campaign there have been moments of verbal slippage when politeness has yielded to honesty. For example, when Obama was publicly branded as "uppity." Ironically, in this one instance the media spoke truth to power--certainly not in the way Brother Cornel West would have imagined-- in how it gave voice to the not so well hidden subtexts of McCain and Palin's attacks on the Democratic nominee.

You see, this is why I prefer my racism straight with no chaser. You see, this is why I prefer honest racists.

If we decode symbolic racism, with its matrix of codes, shadows, and smoke screens, the real essence of Palin and McCain's attacks are readily clear.

When McCain and Palin call Obama unqualified they are really saying "he does not know his place," and in the coded appeals of symbolic racism, Obama has taken "your" job. When McCain and Palin call Obama "arrogant" and "the One," they are saying that he is not sufficiently deferent. When McCain and Palin say that Obama will make America unsafe, they are saying that he, THAT black man, is himself the source of danger. And moreover, how can THAT black man protect your White interests? When McCain and Palin say Obama is inexperienced they are really saying that he is an "affirmative action hire." When McCain and Palin say that Obama associates with terrorists and that he doesn't really love America, they are really saying that he, THAT black man, is not a "real" American citizen. By definition, Obama, because he is a Black man, cannot be a patriot.

You see, this is why I prefer my racism straight with no chaser. You see, this is why I prefer honest racists. You see, this is why I wish that Palin and McCain would simply say what they really feel:

In fact, I suggest that it would be far more refreshing, honest, and effective if McCain and Palin would simply go all in and feature the corrupt, partying, lazy black senators of Birth of a Nation (see minute 4:36) as the centerpieces of their campaign ads. This approach would be far more efficient than their present approach because it would save Palin and McCain from the distraction of having to operate through allusion and innuendo.

You see, I can deal with honest racists. In fact, I have a grudging respect for them. I deplore their wickedness and posturing. I abhor their resistance to wisdom. I detest how they give life to the worst parts of our humanity. But at least I can respect their honesty.

Plus, we respectable negroes know quite well how to deal with honest racists:

You see, this is why I prefer my racism straight with no chaser. You see, this is why I prefer honest racists. You see, this is why I wish that Palin and McCain would simply say what they really feel.

And how do you, fellow respectable negroes and our white allies, feel in this moment?

Here's news of yet another plot uncovered. No one wants to be right about the possibility of these scenarios, but is amazing how quickly we are dismissed as "paranoid," "hate-mongers" when we express these very valid fears. Several posts back, I wrote about the history of lynching in America and its link to fears of losing power/dominance. I was surprised at the number of people who accused me of stirring up racial resentments. One person even referred to me as "dangerous." Gordon writes about the phenomenon of "black victimology," but this is a situation where fears and and anxieties are too often dismissed.

Federal officials said that both of the men who were arrested — Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn. — told interrogators that they had talked of assassinating Mr. Obama. Lawyers for the men could not be reached.

The two men “planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows,” according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., by an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Mr. Obama has no plans to be in Tennessee, and the affidavit does not make clear whether the men had picked a place for an attack.

The assassination was to be the culmination of a “killing spree” that would also single out children at an unnamed, predominately black school, federal officials said. The men talked of “killing 88 people and beheading 14 African-Americans,” according to the affidavit.

The two men each had “very strong views” about Aryan white power and “skinhead” ideology, the federal officials said, and the numbers 88 and 14 have special significance in the white power movement. The number 88 is shorthand for “Heil, Hitler” — H is the eighth letter in the alphabet —and 14 signifies a 14-word mantra among white supremacists: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”...

Sunday, October 26, 2008

We're not sure if our readers have noticed, but the anxiety of respectable Negroes about the upcoming election has diminished. We've got an insider in the McCain-Palin camp who is engaged in spiritual warfare on behalf of Negroes around the world -- Bishop Thomas Muthee.

Bishop Thomas Mutheeis a powerful Kenyan witch doctor who has been able to infiltrate Sarah Palin's inner circle, gaining her trust and confidence. It is little known that Bishop Muthee is actually a second cousin to Barack Obama. Obama's grandmother visited Muthee several years ago when she first became aware of her grandson's ambitions. Mama Obama gathered the elders and consulted the ancestors about Obama's fate. It was decided that Muthee would be the one to act on behalf of the tribe to protect both Obama and the well-being of Negroes everywhere.

"Bishop" Muthee began his work by calling his tribes people together to carry out an elaborate hoax on the local Pentecostal missionaries. Women began spreading rumors about a witch who was supposedly terrorizing the town's children. The missionaries were intrigued, but still skeptical. They were finally convinced when a young woman was brought before them. They were horrified at the sight of her dreadlocks, her red, black and gold headdress, and her gold nose ring. When she started quoting Charles Darwin, they immediately dropped to their knees and began to plead for the blood of Jesus to protect them. Their pleas were in vain.

The missionaries were helpless. It was at this point that Muthee stepped in to organize a massive prayer circle. Thousands gathered from his town and beyond to pray. In addition to their prayers, each individual contributed a "tithe." Less that twenty-four hours later, there was absolutely no sign of the witch in the entire Kenyan countryside. The missionaries were amazed and proclaimed Muthee a "spiritual warrior," singing his praises at Pentecostal revivals around the world. (Meanwhile, the young "witch" settled into her first year of study at Stanford Medical School secured by a generous scholarship from her townspeople).

Muthee was eventually invited to Alaska by Patrick Donelson, a former fishing guide and pastor to Sarah Palin. Donelson and Palin consulted Muthee about fighting the demons and witches that were trying to block Palin's path to political power. Muthee convinced Palin to take part in a ceremony that would supposedly cloak her with an impenetrable, spiritual armour.In that ceremony, Muthee invoked the powers of his ancestors, Obama's ancestors, and the ancestors of Negroes around the world. He chanted centuries old Swahili invocations which Palin mistook for "speaking in tongues." As the ancestors began to awaken, the parishioners at Wasilla Assemblies of God that Sunday morning witnessed something they referred to as “awesome” and “very, very powerful.”

Muthee chanted and held his hand firmly to Palin's back, her spiritual core. The spirits of the ancestors were able to flow from Muthee into Palin. Palin began to quiver and found herself struggling to keep her balance. From time to time, the more powerful of the ancestral spirits would speak through her. Again, the Swahili chants were mistaken by everyone for "speaking in tongues." When the ancestors had solidly taken over Palin's spirit, Muthee released her and declared a "spiritual victory." Palin confidently returned to her pew.

From that pivotal morning forward, the ancestral spirits have been working through Palin in ways that even Muthee himself did not imagine. They have been able to "charm" nearly every anti-Negro, anti-Obama spirit that Palin comes in contact with. Each one she charms goes on to charm another. Where before they were able to hide their latent racism, these charmed individuals are finding it nearly impossible not to speak their true thoughts and feelings. Conservativeleaders who previously counted themselves among the best and the brightest, find themselves deferring to an unknown woman who represents everything they purportedly disdain among the white trash voters they have been able to manipulate for years.

Palin is seemingly unaware of the powers that are working through her. The spirits have given her a high that she has never experienced before. When asked about her boundless energy and consistent cheer, she naively attributes them to regular exercise and prayer. Critics have accused Palin of not answering questions directly and not sticking to the topics in her debates. Palin, of course, dismisses the criticism; for she is completely unaware of what she is saying from one moment to the next. Remember that it is not Palin speaking, but rather the ancestral spirits who are working through her to undermine those who seek to block Obama's path. (Each time Palin winks inappropriately, however, I wonder if the real Palin is attempting to signal to her friends and family that something is awry).

So far, the power of the ancestors is working better than Mama Obama and Muthee had hoped. Respectable Negroes and their allies should all be encouraged by the force that has been shown thus far. We urge you, however, to not be mere witnesses to the awesome wonders of our ancestors. Seize the opportunity to channel your psychic energy to support the spiritual warriors fighting on our behalf. Each time a vote for Obama is cast, the warriors are further emboldened. The struggle continues.

Among the myriad attractions of Sunday morning services at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem are the impassioned sermons of the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, its pastor, and the chance to hear its stirring gospel choir.

The procession recalled an era of elegance presumed long gone but in fact revived each week at West 138th Street and Lenox Avenue. “We made this style,” said Joe Alexander, who watched as the crowd filed by. “We’ve been dressing like this for 100 years.”

Friday, October 24, 2008

Not only have we had to suffer the indignity of having great African-American literary works shelved alongside bad Iceberg Slim knockoffs, we now have to endure a New York Times discussion of those knockoffs as a window onto the "urban" experience. So now "ghetto lit" / "urban fiction" reflects my life as an Oakland transplant in New York City? Of course, not. It's supposed to reflect my life as a Negress in modern America --> urban=Negro.

One expert on "urban affairs" offers in the article, "... the genre tells the stories of African-Americans who survived the 1980s drug wars. This is about documenting history, or, I should say, collective memory." Can I ask whose collective memory? A more accurate comment might have said that this genre of fiction is about documenting a collective imagination. In that collective, I would include all of America -- black and non-black.

A parallel can be found in gangster rap with its exaggerated violence and masculinity. The more it was sold to American audiences as an authentic representation of the Negro experience, the more we saw young, black suburbanites posturing as thugs at the local malls with their white friends in tow. We also witnessed white, frat boys hosting "ghetto" theme parties where they would talk, dress and act as they imagine black people do. The members of NWA, and currently Rick Ross, are masters of performing and reinforcing this collective imagination of authentic Negritude. (The reality is that they all come from lower-middle to middle class backgrounds.) Travel around the world and you will see idiots of all nationalities performing as Negroes, as hawd rappuhs. At one point, it seemed that all you had to do was have a jerry curl and hold a forty-ounce in your hand in order to get a record deal. Remember looking around wondering what happened to groups like Tribe Called Quest and Poor Righteous Teachers?

In the same way that gangster rap played into the collective imagination of black men as aggressive, thoughtless criminals, ghetto lit is playing into the collective imagination of black women as hard, gold-digging whores: "And then there’s Angel, a Versace-clad seductress who shoots her boyfriend in the head during sex, stuffs money from his safe into her Vuitton bags and, as she fondles the cash, experiences a sexual frisson narrated in terms too graphic to reproduce here." Says Shonda Miller, 35, "I read what I can relate to. They’re writing about what I’ve experienced. It’s easier than reading about Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive.” Really? If this is what she relates to, am I wrong in thinking that Ms. Miller should be in jail, or at least in counseling?

I am fearful of what ghetto lit will do to the already negative images of Negro women in America. Yes, there was Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines before, but they were never legitimized in the same way. They simply weren't placed in the same category as Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison. Publishers were not falling all over themselves to produce them and they certainly weren't getting regular press in mainstream newspapers. The images of Negro women as oversexed and threatening are being articulated as never before. And sadly, I have to add, by ourselves. While we may be writing this smut ourselves, we certainly are not the only ones consuming it. I have found ghetto lit dominating the African American literature section in bookstores across Vermont, Idaho and Maine. New Englanders, Christians, Main Streeters, Gun Enthusiasts and Real Americans are reading these books, gaining perspective on "urban affairs." Shiver, shiver.

The New York Times praises the genre for bringing in new readers: “We’ve got people who are reading for the first time. We’ve got people coming into our building asking for Teri Woods who have never come here before,” said Lora-Lynn Rice, the director of collections at the Martin Library in York County. “Why would we not embrace this?” Why? Because not only is it negative, most of it is terribly written. Have these librarians read these books for themselves?

One reader responded to the article by saying, "People often miss the point when discussing these "urban fiction". They are poorly written, loaded with grammatical errors and typos, since most of them are self published. They are found mostly in areas where there is a vast population of African Americans. Young African American readers are being exposed to these materials that are filled with errors. So when they're test scores in reading, for instance, are lower than other students; how rewarding that they were exposed to poorly written materials such as these overrated urban fiction materials. Furthermore, I don't want my stinkin' tax dollars paying for a book called "Gold Digga" or "Wifey". Yuck!" Well-said.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

I recently commented on Zora’s thought-provoking post about linked fate. In my comment, I noted that, even after years of wrestling with linked fate, I am unable to articulate a clear philosophy.

A string of recent events have helped me work through some of my difficulties with linked fate, so that now I’m at least able to throw out some inchoate thoughts on the subject:

First, on Thursday I began my second year as a volunteer reading mentor at a public school in which all of the students are poor and black. This is the youngest group of children (2nd Graders) I’ve ever mentored.

Then, minutes after leaving the school, I saw a woman in her late 20s waiting at the bus stop. She had her name written on the back of her tracksuit, but I could only see part of the name. When she got on the bus ahead of me, I saw the full name in all its glory: FALACIA!

Finally, on Friday I snagged front row seats to a stellar performance by a troupe of West African dancers. Before they even started dancing, I caught a whiff of one dancer who smelled like a mildewed onion frying in vinegar. Instead of devoting my full attention to the show, I found myself trying to pinpoint which of them was so damn musty. Ultimately, I located the culprit and decided to breathe through my mouth when he was near.

All three events occupied my mind throughout the weekend (the dance show largely because I was haunted by traumatic olfactory flashbacks). While these events haven’t led me to a coherent position on linked fate, they’ve at least started the ball rolling.

Before I detail what I learned from the events, let me reiterate what I said in response to Zora: linked fate may be a practical reality, but it doesn’t have to carry moral implications. I’m tied to black degenerates because those who accept white supremacy are too corrupted to distinguish between me and the degenerates; I do not, as Zora said, feel any moral connection to degenerates.

“this makes us look bad”I have tutored and mentored poor black children for over a decade, primarily because I exhibit a sense of race pride when it comes to black folks’ academic and professional successes. The flipside, of course, is that I have a deep sense of shame about black folks’ academic and professional failings. For whatever reason, even though the failures aren’t my own, they feel like my own. It goes without saying that this should be the ethos of all members of a community, but given the numbers, it is especially important for black communities.

Lesson: As it turns out, I do have a moral sense of linked fate, but it applies mostly to children, and especially to their educational achievement; once these children grow up, however, my sense of linked fate only extends to them if they chose to be respectable. By “respectable” I mean that they work hard, they try not to bring kids into the world unless they can support them, they support kids they do bring into the world, they have a respect for the law (when the law makes sense), they act beyond mere impulse and self-satisfaction, and they have a regard for the common good.

This only sounds like a right-wing talking point because the left has failed to address the matter in a serious way. I’m about treating children like children and treating adults like adults. This runs counter to the approaches of most conservatives—who want to treat children like adults—and many liberals—who want to treat adults like children.

“this makes her look bad”Ah, the hours I’ve spent thinking about Falacia (I wonder if her brother’s name is Connalingus). Whenever I see black people with bizarre names, I feel bad for the individual, because I know that her life chances will likely be unfairly limited, Falacia may be an intelligent, industrious woman. And though her name should have no bearing on her success, it probably will. Unlike some respectable negroes, I don’t recoil in horror and argue that her weird name somehow embarrasses black people as a whole. I feel the same way about black folks who dress in loud, tacky clothes or consume ghetto lit and crappy music and TV shows.

Lesson: When it comes to black taste (child names, taste in clothes, books, movies, TV, music), I think that each black person’s taste reflects only on that person. TAN seemed to suggest the opposite when he inquired why there is a dearth of mainstream black satire. He worried that this lack might make it seem as if black people aren’t sophisticated enough to understand satire. This is, without question, the wrong way to look at these matters, and I scolded TAN accordingly.

“this makes them look bad”When I first smelled the one pungent dancer, my thoughts immediately focused on the other 13 dancers. I was concerned that the funky one would reinforce stereotypes not about African-Americans, but about Africans and “foreigners” in general. All it takes is one rotten apple to taint the whole bunch.

Lesson: Whatever sense of black linked fate I have doesn’t really extend past African-Americans, but I am sympathetic to the linked fate situations of other groups of black people.

Now that I've put these thoughts out there, I invite our readers (and Zora and Chauncey) to tear them apart. Do any of these ponits need to be clarified? Am I contradicting myself somewhere?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Brits have finally come clean. It seems that the British government has decided to open their secret UFO files. These files are a treasure trove of information. They contain stories of UFO's the size of Aircraft Carriers terrorizing British airspace, landings near military bases, and abductions of British citizens. Now, as a ghetto nerd I certainly believe in extra-terrestrial life. One would have to be a an overly religious, Luddite, mouth breather who doesn't believe in evolution to not concede the obvious. Random thought: I really have never understood how religion cannot include space aliens as God's creations (I think there are several beliefs systems outside of the Judeo-Christian which do have that expansive view), but that is a conversation for another time.

But, while I believe in aliens, I am unsure if they have ever visited Earth. As I often say, why would they? We are a planet located in the equivalent of a galactic trailer park. Unless they are slumming, we are likely far away from the inter-galactic equivalent of I-95. But, I have always wondered where are the black and brown folk who have been kidnapped by aliens? Why don't we get some love?

Interestingly, one of the first documented cases of alien abduction was that of an interracial couple, Betty and Barney Hill in the White Mountains near Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1961. This was a widely discussed and documented case that attracted much media attention. It was also one of the first cases where repressed memories were recovered through hypnosis. Funny thing, the Hills weren't taken too seriously at the time because they were an inter-racial couple, and of course, you have to be crazy to marry across the race line. Moreover, the aliens--the grays as they would come to be called in the ufology community--wanted Mr. Hill's sperm so this hurt his credibility a bit. Damn it, why do those aliens come all that distance to collect semen and put things in people's behinds? Perverts.

Random thought: when black folks are featured in these shows, why do they announce to the world that they had hot, alien sex? Are we that irresistible?

I know the aliens, if they have perfected free energy and can travel between the stars, must certainly have evolved beyond petty colorism and race prejudice. Perhaps, we respectable negroes can start a support group for people of color who have been abducted by aliens or have seen ufo's? We are a galactic people by nature, so perhaps our alien brothers will eventually come back to Earth in order to claim us?

As a primer for potential members of our Respectable Negro Alien Abductee and Visitation Support Group, I offer the following useful videos:

1. Betty and Barney Hill describe their abduction by extraterrestrials:

2. Betty and Barney Hill under hypnosis:

2. Noted physicist, MichioKaku discusses how governments would respond if ET were to visit the Earth:

4.Riley Martin discussing his 72 hour love making session, courtesy of alien Viagra, with the Biavians:

5. An unforgettable episode of the Art Bell show which featured a phone call from Area 51:

Come out of the closet my brothers and sisters. I know I am not alone. In fact, I actually saw a UFO in 1995 near New Britain, Connecticut and have never been the same since that fateful evening...maybe they touched me psychically. Come clean my friends. Share your stories and experiences. You are safe here.

Now, allow me a qualifier. Returning to the boxing metaphors so common to politics and punditry (and which I used in my analysis of Biden-Palin), I certainly believe that Obama won on points. But was Obama really victorious? In his artful moves, skillful jabs and counter punches against McCain, did Obama let him land too many head shots and visibly damaging punches? The very types of blows that judges--in this case those Joe Six Packs and teetering Reagan Democrats--respond to in their scoring?

Barack Obama's dilemma in how to best approach McCain and Palin's attacks is a literal embodiment of the "two-ness," the schism which exists at the heart of being Black and American.

Obama's racially marked life is a careful balancing act on the precipice of authenticity politics. On one hand, Obama is not black enough. On the other hand, he is too black. Barack Obama, as vanguard flag bearer for a 21st century understanding of Blackness, is still shadowed by a set of 20th, 19th, and 18th century stereotypes about black personhood and humanity. These stereotypes, of black violence, underachievement, arrogance, of being "uppity" and untrustworthy are the fuel for McCain and Palin's assault on his candidacy. Obama's eloquence is dismissed as snake oil--a contemporary spin on the oft-used phrases, "you are so articulate," "or where did you learn to speak so well?" that many of us are all too familiar with. He is told to "respect" Sarah Palin, a polite nod to the rule that "boy you better know your place" and "you best not reckless eyeball at a white woman."

In Barack Obama's metaphorical boxing match with McCain-Palin (and yes, they are flip sides of the same coin--2 heads on a Right wing leviathan) he has been urged by his supporters to fight back, to take the battle to the Republicans in a visible and direct way. Obama has skillfully countered with commercials, through his surrogates, and in eloquent campaign speeches. But here is my worry, in those moments of direct interaction, in that squared circle of the boxing ring that was the debate, he has avoided direct counters for fear of scoring too damaging a shot.

For example, during the debate Obama passed up obvious attacks and counters, including a lazy left hand cross that was the moderator's question on Sarah Palin's candidacy, in favor of dodges and quick flurries. When McCain dared to play the victim and label Congressman Lewis's comments about Republican race bating as a type of hate speech and smear against Republicans at large, Obama took the blow and shrugged it aside. Likewise, the provocative shots on Acorn and William Ayers were parried but never counter-punched despite the relative ease of Barack landing a killing blow in that instance if he so desired (the Keating Five; Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters; Reverend Hagee, the Bridge to Nowhere, Palin's association with the Alaska Independence Party; McCain's support for death squads in Latin America, etc. etc.).

Barack is forced to be the gentleman's champ. In our boxing metaphor he is Joe Louis. In his efforts to remain above the fray and to speak to the issues, Barack has avoided being too aggressive lest he lose the tenuous support of a significant segment of the white public. Like Joe Louis--America's heavyweight champion during World War 2 who happened to be African American--Obama has to deftly perform a non-threatening black masculinity. He is cool. He is calm. He is collected. And he can never let himself be perceived as too impassioned or angry.

Again, the two-ness, the duality of Barack's identity comes to the forefront. Obama is already perceived by many in the Heart Land, and those others immersed in the Republican echo chamber, as an uppity negro who doesn't know his place. Most important, this stereotype looms in the hearts and minds of some voters who are actually considering voting for a black Man despite the power of their racist fears and anxieties.In the racial subconscious of these voters, Barack Obama is Jack Johnson. He is unrepentantblackness. Yet, and this is the absurdity of racism, they are fundamentally different figures who are somehow related in this twisted psyche of white supremacy. Unlike Papa Jack, Obama does not defy white supremacy and the threat of white racial terrorism by publicly cavorting with white women, a life threatening move when the noose was still enforced. Nor does Obama stuff socks down his pants in order to intimidate his opponents through a performed and exaggerated black masculinity. Nevertheless, in the minds of many voters, Obama is a moment, a split second, an opportunity to be taken away from becoming that figure.

In a slightly more benign form, Barack Obama represents the dual figures of Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang. The Rocky films, thinly veiled narratives of white ethnic uplift in the face of black entitlement, are caricatures by design, but their story speaks to this political truth. Like Apollo Creed, Obama is in the eyes of Right wing conservatives, arrogant, a show off, and a celebrity figure. Rocky, is the All-American Horatio Alger in boxing trunks, a scrappy hard worker who lacks physical gifts but who succeeds despite the odds against him.

To this same public, Barack Obama is a Clubber Lang figure. And if Obama responds with more force to McCain and Palin's assaults, he moves a step closer to validating their worst fears about black criminality, violence, and of how an Obama presidency may disrupt the "rightful" and "natural" order of things:

This is the ugliness at the root of white Conservative fears and anxieties about Obama, and how they have so easily cast him as some variety of strange, foreign, Other. When local Republican Party Organizations depict Obama with fried chicken, Kool-aid, and watermelons on their posters and flyers they are signaling to this deep and profound racism and prejudice. When the Right links Obama to Osama bin Laden they are speaking to this bigotry. When they circulate emails with a picture of his African relatives in traditional clothing, the Right is speaking to a sentiment that Obama, on an existential level, does not belong in their "White" house.

But, if politics is the exercise of compromise, of a practical exercise of power, Obama needs the support of some of these voters. People, who like those featured in Sunday's New York Times Magazine harbor deep levels of anti-black animus, but are actively considering voting for Barack Obama because economic self-interest trumps their bigotry.

My ultimate worry is that Barack's tactically sound engagement with McCain and Palin may surprisingly hurt him: if there is a "man-code" of sorts, a set of rules regarding personal honor, dignity and reputation, will Barack's necessary and artful dodging, jabbing, and amazing footwork be his demise? Should Obama move to a more devastating and direct strategy where he goes for the inevitable knockout punch?

Perhaps, these gun-toting, "God fearing" "Heartland" voters want to see if Barack will stand up to these attacks on his manhood and honor. Maybe, and I truly worry, their assessment of his manhood, of his ability to be an effective president is linked to Obama's necessary unwillingness to land a devastating knockout punch to John McCain's metaphorical glass jaw. This approach is a direct contrast to Obama's current strategy of beating McCain-Palin through a death of a thousand cuts. Will this be enough? Will McCain's newest cut man, Joe the Plumber, be enough to recapture momentum during these last few weeks? Or will Obama's newest trainer Colin Powell push him over the finish line?

Sarah Palin and John McCain are textbook, school yard bullies. And maybe, just maybe, Barack Obama just needs to punch John McCain in the nose to prove a point. And maybe, just maybe, Obama through that one deed will have earned the respect (and votes) of those Joe Six Packs and Lunch pail voters come election day. Or am I being too hopeful?

Who is Chauncey DeVega?

I am the editor and founder of We Are Respectable Negroes, as well as the host of the podcast known as "The Chauncey DeVega Show".

I am also a race man in progress, Black pragmatist, ghetto nerd, cultural critic and essayist.

I have been a guest on the BBC, Ring of Fire Radio, Ed Schultz, Make it Plain, Joshua Holland's Alternet Radio Hour, the Thom Hartmann radio show, the Burt Cohen show, and Our Common Ground.

I have also been interviewed on the RT Network and Free Speech TV.

My writing has been featured by Salon, Alternet, The New York Daily News, and the Daily Kos.

My work has also been referenced by MSNBC, as well as online magazines and publications such as The Atlantic, Slate, The Week, The New Republic, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, The Washington Times, The Nation, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Judge me by my enemies. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Juan Williams, Herman Cain, Alex Jones, World Net Daily, Twitchy, the Free Republic, NewsBusters, the Media Research Council, Project 21, and Weasel Zippers have made it known that they do not like me very much.